Pictured from left: Officer Herman, Supt. Jamey Luther, Officer Sweet and Officer Beebe.
Officer A. Herman noticed an inmate had his cell window covered shortly after 2 p.m. on Nov. 11.
Herman gave the inmate an order to remove the covering, but he did not. Herman removed the towel and observed the inmate hanging from the top bunk of his cell.
Officers Sweet and Herman entered the inmate's cell, untied the bedsheet and lowered the inmate to the floor. They performed an initial assessment and noted that the inmate was not breathing and lacked a pulse.
The officers began chest compressions and rescue breathing; Officer Beebe arrived on the scene and took over chest compressions. After completing several cycles of CPR, they were able to regain a pulse and breathing. The inmate was carried down the steps, placed on a stretcher and escorted to medical for further evaluation.
The inmate was sent out via ambulance to J.C. Blair Memorial Hospital at 2:35 p.m.
The incident occurred during shift change and without the keen observation of Officer Herman, who noticed this inmate get off the phone and immediately go into his cell and cover his cell window, and the swift, subsequent actions of these three officers, the outcome this day would have been much different.
The next day at the facility during lunch, an inmate approached Officer Boyd, because he was choking. The inmate could still talk at this time, but when he tried to cough or clear his throat he inhaled and lodged the food further into his airway. Officer Boyd perform the Heimlich maneuver and was able to successfully clear the inmate's air passage.
The performance of these four officers exemplifies true correctional excellence. Their due diligence, training, professionalism and swift actions alone saved the lives of these inmates.